Beneath Dark Stars: The Sundown Saga, #2

By KC Kendricks

Fallon Roxbury, seasoned detective and special police consultant, knows that appearances can be deceiving. Trained to gather the clues and arrive at logical conclusions, he fits the puzzle pieces of a situation together to find the truth. But there’s nothing reasonable in Fallon’s attraction to the sexy, secretive shapeshifter called Sundown.

Sundown has studied people all his life. Having his very own human male is all he ever wanted. In Fallon, he’s found a man he can trust with his secrets and reveal his true nature. Keeping Fallon happy is a joyful exercise into which Sundown puts his heart and soul—when he’s not teasing Fallon’s police partner by leaving strange footprints at crime scenes, that is.

Fallon’s new case ties into an old one. At a dead end, he knows it’s time to ask Sundown for a little help. With his special abilities, Sundown can get into places Fallon can’t. All Fallon has to do is figure out a way to prove what he already knows. But what’s a cop to do when the truth takes a shift that’s stranger than fiction?

* * *

Without a word, Sundown rolled from the bed and padded off to the bathroom, his footsteps silent on the carpet. The skin he wore for me was quite attractive. Tall and slender, he moved with a controlled grace, each step measured, no effort wasted. His shiny dark hair, green eyes, and full, berry-colored lips were perfect—too perfect if someone looked closely at my shapeshifter lover. I closed my eyes and listened to him move around the apartment, finally reopening them to admire his form as he returned carrying two cups of coffee.

I accepted both mugs until he rejoined me under the sheet, then handed one back to him. I loved these lazy mornings when we the most strenuous thing we had to do was nothing at all. Sundown rubbed his thigh against mine.

“Tell me more about this girl whose killer you seek.”

If I didn’t tell him, he’d chatter at me until I did. It was better to give him the short version and get it over with, even though I knew it would upset his tender heart.

“Maria DeLong’s parents reported her missing ten years ago. She turned up dead four years ago. Someone beat her to death and tossed her body out along Route 17. They carved the letter W into her cheek.”

Sundown grew still and silent. Not for the first time I wondered if his kind had racial memory and could remember those things done to their brethren in the Chal ancient past he refused to discuss with me. His people had been enslaved when they arrived on this world, and that’s all the Chal history I’d gotten out of him.

He drew in a quick, short breath and then blew it out.

“The Chal can help. We are able to go into places where you can not.”

For once, his people would be on my side. “The Elders will sanction that? Right. Tell me another story.”

“I was with the Elders yesterday, apologizing for my actions regarding Sergeant Mack. I have promised them—again—that I will cease to play Sasquatch tricks on him.”

“But did you promise not to play any tricks on him, period, or just the Bigfoot ones?”

He blinked at me, dismay written all over his face. Uh-huh. I had him now. “Chupacabra, perhaps?”

His mouth dropped open. His eyes widened. “That is not me! I’ve never been to Texas!”

• Language: English
• Publisher: White Deer Enterprises/White Deer Books
• Release date: Apr 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524254650

KC Kendricks

KC Kendricks calls herself an accidental writer. After completing her first novel writing as Rayne Forrest, she was urged to submit it to a publisher, and everything snowballed from there. Today, the author has had over seventy books published. In July of 2021, she tried to retire but her employer offered her a deal to work at home. She accepted. Now she balances work, writing, and hearth and home in a controlled chaos. A native of scenic western Maryland, the author enjoys most activities that don’t include snow. In warm weather she might be found walking the dog, biking on the C&O Canal towpath, planting delicacies in her garden for the deer to munch on at night, playing in the creek, or lazing on the patio with her Kindle reader or laptop. She recently began to research her family history and can't drive past a cemetery without stopping to search for family sites. Her mission is to photograph old tombstones before the elements erode the stones and the names are lost to time. For more about KC Kendricks and Rayne Forrest’s writing life, please visit the Between the Keys blog at http:kckendricks.blogspot.com . If you’d like to know more about the author’s country lifestyle and her daily activities full of simple country pleasures (and a lot of work), please visit the Holly Tree Manor blog at http://hollytreemanor.blogspot.com . KC can be reached through her blog, Between the Keys. All comments are strictly moderated by the author and personal messages are treated as such. Follow the author on Twitter for up-to-date announcements at Twitter.com/KCKendricks.

Book preview

Beneath Dark Stars

by

KC Kendricks

Second Edition

The title and author of this book have not changed.

This book is a work of fiction. While references to actual places or events may occur,

the names, characters, incidents and locations are from the author’s imagination

and any resemblance to anyone, living or dead, is coincidental.

Beneath Dark Stars

Copyright © 2011, 2016 KC Kendricks

Cover art © 2016 KC Kendricks

All Rights Reserved

White Deer Enterprises/White Deer Books

Reproduction of this digital e-book for file sharing or selling, regardless

of whether any type of currency is exchanged, other than what the author grants, is strictly prohibited by law. Piracy is a crime.

WARNING: This book is intended for readers over the age of 18.

It contains explicit sexual content and language.

The Sundown Saga by KC Kendricks

The Back Stairs

Beneath Dark Stars

River Walk

Moon Dances

Fly By Night

Praise for KC Kendricks’ Sundown Saga

The Back Stairs

5 Kisses for The Back Stairs...I completely applaud KC Kendricks for coming up with a character twist that kept me guessing till the last page was turned. – Two Lips Reviews

Intriguing and compelling, The Back Stairs makes for some thrilling reading and excitement. The Back Stairs is another electrifying tale from the pen of KC Kendricks. – Sensual Reads Reviews

Beneath Dark Stars

The inexplicable connection between Fallon and Sundown is what sets Beneath Dark Stars apart from other romances.  Their love story is fiercely satisfying. – Joyfully Reviewed

If you like something a little rare in your m/m romance, then this series is for you. With its distinctive characters, amazing world-building and sexually charged love scenes, Beneath Dark Stars is a great read and hopefully we will get more from the author in this universe. – Dark Divas Reviews

River Walk

This fascinating and very enjoyable detective series. – Literary Nymphs Reviews

I completely believe in their connection – no suspension of disbelief required here...I am really looking forward to my next meeting with Fallon and Sundown. – Jessewave Reviews

Moon Dances

This is an intriguing romantic mystery series. The characters are creditable. Fallon is a Special Police Consultant, working cold cases along with his partner Juny. Also key in solving the murder cases is Fallon’s alien lover Sundown, who has the ability to shape shift. KC Kendricks’ Moon Dances is a fascinating as well as a very enjoyable installment to the series. – Literary Nymphs Reviews

About the book Beneath Dark Stars...

The sequel to the best seller The Back Stairs...

Fallon Roxbury, seasoned detective and special police consultant, knows that appearances can be deceiving. Trained to gather the clues and arrive at logical conclusions, he fits the puzzle pieces of a situation together to find the truth. But there’s nothing reasonable in Fallon’s attraction to the sexy, secretive shapeshifter called Sundown.

Sundown has studied people all his life. Having his very own human male is all he ever wanted. In Fallon, he’s found a man he can trust with his secrets and reveal his true nature. Keeping Fallon happy is a joyful exercise into which Sundown puts his heart and soul—when he’s not teasing Fallon’s police partner by leaving strange footprints at crime scenes, that is.

Fallon’s new case ties into an old one. At a dead end, he knows it’s time to ask Sundown for a little help. With his special abilities, Sundown can get into places Fallon can’t. All Fallon has to do is figure out a way to prove what he already knows. But what’s a cop to do when the truth takes a shift that’s stranger than fiction?

Beneath Dark Stars

CHAPTER 1

One singularly disconcerting fact about being half of a developing relationship was going to bed alone and waking up with a cold ass plastered firmly against my warm balls. It’s not that I don’t like the sexy little butt the object of my affection wears for me, because I do. More appropriately, I wonder about the method he employs to gain entry to my apartment. He doesn’t have a key, but I guess being a shapeshifter, he doesn’t need one.

I pulled the sheet over our heads and wrapped my arm around his waist. Long and lean, Sundown wiggled deeper into the curve of my body. He was a playful sort, even when it came to sex, but I’d only climbed into the bed two hours ago, having been out most of the night with my partner, working a cold case at our favorite lowlife-filled watering hole. I had to do something to earn the consultant fee the city fathers paid me.

Who the hell wanted to know how my lover had occupied his time last night? I certainly didn’t. He said the Elders of his people had requested his presence, and I insisted that’s all I needed to know.

Yeah, I was a tad curious, but not before my first cup of coffee.

I buried my nose in his dark, silky hair and kissed the back of his neck. The taste of his warm, sun-kissed skin flooded my senses, confusing taste and aroma, jumbling scent into color, and color into a caress. I’d given up trying to figure out how he did it. I couldn’t bend my poor human brain around it, so I did my best to simply enjoy it.

And I did enjoy it.

He’d walked into my life six weeks ago, knowing a few things about a murder he was reluctant to say to a human stranger. I’d not understood at first, but who in their right mind expected to have a shapeshifter make a pass at them?

I originally suspected he was a hustler. He’d tempted me with coffee, given me the best blowjob of my life, and made me feel alive for the first time in ages. Then, to make sure he’d caught his human—me—he changed his skin into that of a dog, sprinted into a crowd, and tackled the bad guy I was after so I could handcuff him. Who wouldn’t fall in love with a—being—like that?

Babe, can you let me sleep another hour? I didn’t get to bed until almost daybreak. I licked behind his ear, slowly with the pointed tip of my tongue.

He melted for me when I teased his ears, one time, literally. That had been quite the shock. His questing fingers inched between us and found my soft, warm balls, cupping them.

I missed you last night, Fallon.

Okay, so he knew how to make me melt, too.

Suddenly warm, I kicked off the sheet and stretched out so he could get to me better. Who really needs to sleep eight hours every night of his life?

I hoped he wanted more than to give me a good morning hand job, but I never knew with him. His sex drive was different, and I wasn’t getting the familiar woodsy, earthy scent of sandalwood he gave off when he was really horny.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I miss you at night, too, when we both have...people...to see. But I’ve got to do this, Sundown. Juny and I never found who killed Maria DeLong. Now we have another chance to solve her murder.

His busy fingers kept to their work. You’re a good man. I’ll help you if Sergeant Mack will allow it.

I flexed my pelvis against his hand as my interest in what he was doing increased.

Forget Juny. You’d better wonder if I’ll allow it. You scared me to death the last time you ‘helped.’ We’re the cops, remember? We have training. You’re a...civilian.

Sundown flipped over and stared at me, nose-to-nose. I have natural abilities you do not.

I tried to sound firm. The thought of him getting hurt, or worse, sent my heart racing. Somewhere, out there beyond my front door were people—unscrupulous people—who might possess hard evidence about his kind. I didn’t want him visible when Juny and I talked to the media. I pulled him closer. We’re not going to have this discussion again.

Sundown pressed his soft, warm mouth to mine. I opened my lips and flicked my tongue to his in encouragement. His mouth moved across mine as the aroma of pure sandalwood seeped into my awareness and flooded my mind with memories of taking him. Arousal jolted through me, undeniable and hot with its urgency.

I knew his singular scent. He’d meet me more than halfway in anything I wanted.

My cock swelled full and achingly hard in three pounding pulse beats. I rolled him beneath me, never taking my lips from his, as his heady fragrance filled the air around us. His lips moved under mine, giving promises I knew he’d keep. I kissed a path down his neck, and his voice floated up to me, low and breathless.

Tell me what you need, Fallon.

I forgot to breathe as I made my way back up, spoke against his lips and kissed him again. Lift your legs.

Sundown moaned softly, his strong fingers digging into my sides. His knees rose, and I locked my elbows behind them and pinned him to the bed. I had a fleeting moment of hesitation, when all those things I knew to be important were he truly human flashed through my mind. But he wasn’t human, and when I fucked him, the usual rules didn’t apply. I let go of the whys and hows and slid into him.

He was hot—so hot—and tight around me, I went straight to autopilot and fucked him with no thought of tenderness or his pleasure. I needed to get off and nothing else mattered. The little breathless sounds he made, the dreamy look on his face, told me he was already in the moment. I thrust into him and let it happen, hazing out in the white-hot heat sweeping through me, out of